I 100% agree with gangstar. in fact, i think the Z is arguably the best tier 7 plane there is. the 109Z is certainly my highest non-premium win rate plane in tier 7 (and only my J4M win rate is better, but it is not a better plane IMO). just take some time to learn how to fly heavies and you'll eventually find that the 109Z is a beast.

this is probably like when i thought the P-38 was crap in game. but i came back a year later and discovered i was the one that was crap and the P-38s are brilliant and kinda OP.

I'll not call myself an expert on this game by any extent, but I managed to pull a win with a mostly crippled Z vs. 7 opponents.

Long story short, I had altitude and better speed than all the remaining opponents (fully upgraded engines, both speed pilot skills, both speed equips, 20mm guns).

Planes could get up to my altitude and chase me, but I was able to slightly nose down in order to pick up speed and get them to 12-1300m or so before I'd do a full throttle turn and start heading back towards them. They'd pop some shots off then start to weave as I opened up, but I'd easily see the pattern and lead the shots and do 30-70 damage. A few repeats and I was down the the last fighter, a human P-51A pilot (which might have been my demise if he had gone after me) going after an IL2. I had speed, altitude, and dakka, so a pass, vertical flip, then strafe brought him down from fullish health to flames. 2 ILs later and I had run out of targets frustratingly close to a Gorovet's.

Now, this was a bit of an ideal match, but it highlights how you don't need to out-climb planes just to escape them.

I am not great in it as far as stats but I do love flying it. I disagree with GP about going low, I love hunting GA's and the covering fighters, and this plane does very well IMO. I still kinda suck in it as I have no tail gunner and only one bomb...but fly it like the P-47 works pretty well.

I'm currently experimenting with quad 30's on the 109Z (have to get ready for the 262 at some point).

While they do provide a good RoF compared to other large caliber guns in the game, you have to be a bit more precise with them as you only get a short burst of fire.

The loss to speed and maneuverability are minimal (horizontal speed is unaffected, climb is insignificant, turn is slowed by maybe 1 sec) with a great increase in damage. The short burst of fire before overheat isn't that big a deal because if you're approaching a plane any longer they're either a HF running away from you or you're slowing down into a turnfight and about to die anyway.

The only aspect I'm really unsure of right now is how the lower range of the 30's affects BnZ tactics in the plane. Getting closer is nice as it affords you more hits/crits, but the lower you go the harder it is to get back up to altitude and the more likely your opponent will see you coming and evade. There's also the issue of being able to 'snipe' planes with 20s before they could really hit you. With the 30s, I find myself trading shots with the enemy much more often. I do more damage, but I wind up taking more damage as well.